Category Archives: Ello

First dates are a work of art. We’ve all been there, we’ve all experienced the nauseated feeling we get as we wait for the doorbell to ring or experience the (what-seems-like-forever) walk to the door. We’re already dreading something that hasn’t even happened yet. And there’s a 50% chance we might actually have a good time on this particular date. So, why do we feel this way? Maybe it’s that we get so comfortable with what we know, that we are afraid to branch out and try new things. i.e., everybody freaked out when Facebook added the timeline to your personal wall.

So what, Facebook changed in appearance and a little in how we do things? Did it make it better? Eh, that’s debatable. It definitely didn’t make it worse. The point is, Facebook forced us to get out of our comfort zone and try something new. The real question is, how have we coped when new social media sites have come along?

Twitter was an instant success and Instagram took off. So we weren’t afraid of those sites. Google + hasn’t been doing nearly as well as it thought it would and Ello is barely in existence. Some social media sites hit it off and others don’t.

But, why do we like certain sites and not the others? Did we try a “blind date” with all of them and decide which sites we agreed to go steady with? I’ll admit, I’m not that keen on certain ones either. I tried out Twitter, but I haven’t fully committed but Instagram has stolen my heart. One of the problems could have been that Twitter only allows so many characters in one tweet (trust issues). How can you trust something when you may not be getting the full story?!

The whole point of this rant is that maybe we should give all social media platforms a try before dumping them before the relationship starts. Just like a good, old-fashioned blind date, trying a new social media platform is a good thing to do before committing to just one. Try them out, see what you like and don’t like about each platform. And give them time. Sometimes you just flat out need some good quality time alone with each of them to find out what works for you and what doesn’t.

No matter what happens, Facebook will always be there to welcome you back.

By now, almost everybody has already heard – and forgotten – about Ello, the ad-free social media site that became popular in the Fall of 2014. But the real question is, what happened to Ello? And why hasn’t it gotten big?

Ello is an invite only social media site, making it either:

Exciting.

OMG I have to get an invite!

Obviously this site is for cool people only, that’s why you need the invite.

Have you received your invite request from Ello? Because I have!

Lame.

Why do I have to get an invite to this social media site? I’m not even going to try.

I’m not that desperate, I don’t need to get an invite to feel good about myself.

Seriously?

According to the startup, the site received 31,000 invite requests per hour at one point. So, apparently, there were people who fell under the #1 category. I took it upon myself to request an invite, so I could see how this ad-free social media site was different from Facebook, and if I thought it would ever take off. It took three weeks for Ello to respond to my invite – maybe I’m not cool enough – but alas, I got invited in. I haven’t done anything with with my page. By the time I got invited in I was uninterested, I had moved on, forgotten about Ello completely (Although the weekly emails from Ello are a *nice reminder).

The ad-free feature was supposed to be another bonus. A social media with a Facebook type feel but without all the ads. Awesome, right? This could go two ways:

Awesome

No ads? Thank you.

The retargeting ads on the right hand side started getting old after a while, there’s a reason I didn’t buy that dress I was looking at!

Facebook is too concerned about money. Get over it and stop showing us ads!

So what?

Just use an ad-blocking software.

Ads? Huh, I guess I don’t notice them.

If you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you.

Ello should have figured out from Google+ that trying to replace Facebook will be almost impossible. Even Twitter (although, yes, it is a popular site) hasn’t totally replaced Facebook. Ads and all, Facebook isn’t going anywhere. But Ello sure has. It came, it tried to stick around, it got forgotten about. Sorry Ello, better luck next time.